Flowers for Horses, Donkeys and Mules

by Libby Hopkins

Published in Essence magazine, Autumn 2021

Like other animals – both wild and domestic – horses, donkeys and mules deeply appreciate essences and have much to teach us. I meet new horses when I accompany my friend and colleague, animal communicator Nicole Birkholzer, on some of her barn calls to help people with their animals. And we also volunteer at a wonderful donkey and mule rescue in New Hampshire, the aptly named ‘Save Your Ass Long Ear Rescue’, founded and owned by Ann Firestone and managed by Hannah Exel.

I use nature essences and gem elixirs from many essence-makers in the US and UK and simply dowse to find out which essences will benefit which animal. For barn calls, I dowse beforehand, using the animals’ names if I have them, and bring those I need. I’ve worked with some horses and donkeys several times, offering them different essences as they find their way back into balance. These animals don’t hesitate to come up to me for their new essences and seem to reassure and encourage their companions. Although some animals have previously been given essential oils, I’ve found that very few have experienced essences. When I meet them, therefore, I explain that I’m offering them a nature essence – a form of plant medicine – which they are welcome to try, because I believe it will help them feel better.

Going Quiet

Whether they sniff the essence on my hand, lick it up, or take it in topically when I run my hand on their bodies, the animals generally then become still. Those in good health often simply take a sniff and walk away with a nod of thanks, but most become quiet. Several horses have explained that they ‘turn inward’, allowing the essence vibrations to help rebalance them at all levels. An animal may pause for only a few seconds, stand quietly for a minute, or go deeper and remain still for many minutes.

For horses, donkeys and mules alike, their bodies relax and their eyes go soft or partially close. They are vulnerable during this time, so we stand quietly and hold the space for them. When the process is complete, the animal ‘comes to’, opening its eyes, raising its head and sometimes looking around to get its bearings again. Then we almost always see one or more signs of the animal releasing tension: yawning, relaxing the jaw by licking and chewing, giving a

big, shuddering exhale or blow, shaking its head and neck, shaking its whole body, passing gas or manure, and/or walking off to drop and roll on the ground.

Cutter, Nicole’s palomino quarter horse, was one of my first horse teachers. He said of his experience with essences: “It is a wonderful and deeply helpful gift to offer us – the horses – and all Beings, including yourself. Though they go deep, they bring light. We can let go of things that were in the way, that we didn’t even know we were carrying. And then we can hold our heads higher and move with more brightness.”

Here are a few stories that illustrate some of the requests, responses and insights I’ve received.

Blooming and Sharing

Because essences work at subtle levels, I rarely see an immediate change in the animal except for the wonderful releases of tension they show. But occasionally, as with a donkey named Maria, there’s a big difference in a short time. Shortly after Maria arrived at the rescue centre, Ann got concerned about her and asked if we could help. Maria had not bonded with any of the other donkeys, didn’t engage with Ann or Hannah, and just stood by herself, looking dejected and sad. After spending some time with her and the others in the pasture, I gave her some essences and Nicole did a little energy work on her body. She accepted it all but barely responded and we left her standing alone in the field. The next morning, however, Ann contacted us, dumb- founded, to say that when she’d walked out to the herd, Maria strode right over to her and asked to be petted. Ann wrote again the next day to say that Maria was a new donkey! When two people interested in adopting a ‘long ear’ visited, Maria walked up to them and happily soaked up their affection and petting. Months later, Maria was welcomed into her new home.

On another visit, a stately donkey named Mary was the first to approach and greet us when we entered the paddock. I knelt down and offered her several drops of Vital Core, one of the Living Tree Orchid essences. This essence energises several chakras, especially the first and second. She gently lapped it up, looked for more and only stopped after three and a half servings. We stood together. Nicole shared that Mary was a strongly grounded ‘powerhouse of healing energy’ and that she looked after the others. Then the donkey did a strange thing. As I stood facing her side, she very slowly inched forward and paused, took another few steps and stopped, and continued a slow but steady advance. Nicole said she looked like a slow-motion car wash! Though we don’t know for certain why she moved in that way, I presume she was soaking up and storing the essence vibrations. When she finally walked off and stood, Nicole heard the donkey say that the essence had “filled her vessel” and so she had “more to share.”

On the Body, Please

Animals who want essences topically will often show me where they want them. Cutter was one of the first. After he sniffed and licked the essences, he slowly walked forward and stopped when his rump was next to me, indicating that he wanted some along his lower spine, on the first two chakras. Stetson, another quarter horse who we met on a barn call, also calmly licked the essences I’d brought for him. As we stood by him, he swung his head around and touched his belly. I thought he’d brushed off a fly, but Nicole told me with a smile that he was showing me that he’d like some essences there. When I obliged, he licked and chewed in satisfaction.

We saw Zelda, a pregnant donkey, several times. On our first visit, she sniffed two essences – Creative, made by Australian Bush Flower Essences and Thornless Blackberry (which supports the emergence of dormant talents and abilities) made by Great Lakes Sacred Essences – and then turned around and slowly backed up until her rump was at my waist. Like Cutter, she wanted some essence along her lower back. A few weeks later, she was more balanced and was content to simply sniff the Citrine gem elixir by Alaskan Essences I’d brought for her (Citrine harmonises and centres the mind). Ann expected her to give birth within a month but when we visited four months later, on a cold, snowy February day, Zelda was still very pregnant. She was also very testy and didn’t want people near her, so Nicole approached her in the paddock slowly, kneeling at a distance and offering Venus Transit, made by Great Lakes Sacred Essences, on her out-stretched hand. (This celestial essence restabilizes your inner core and helps to restore love to all areas of your body.) Zelda marched right over, licked up the essence and then gobbled up four more servings. Nicole told us that Zelda was saying “I need it! I want it! I need it! I want it!” Then she suddenly paused, presumably feeling the relief of the essence working, said“Okay,I’mgoodnow”andwalkedaway.HerfoalSassafrasarrivedsoonafter.

Knowing Something’s Coming

At least some of the horses I’ve worked with seemed to have picked up on my intention and knew ahead of time that I’d be sending or bringing them essences. A friend in Maine had been offering one of my essence blends to her mare, Honey-boo, for months. When she came for a visit, she told me she’d run out of the essences and asked if I could make up another bottle. So, I prepared a new blend for the mare and my friend took it home. When she went to the barn the next evening, the mare had her neck stretched over the fence and was vigorously nodding her head up and down, which was not her typical greeting. When the horses got into their stalls, Honey-boo stared at the coat pocket where my friend keeps the bottle and kept nodding her head, eager for the essence. She licked up one serving and was content.

In another instance, an open house took us to a friend’s home and her herd of four horses. She’d told us that her newest horse, a charming white miniature horse named Moon, was having trouble settling into the herd and was anxious. I’d offered to create a special blend for him and bring it along. When we arrived in the afternoon, his owner told us that Moon had been checking the hands of every visitor who came to see him and then impatiently pushing their hands away with his nose. When I pulled out my essences for the horses, he stood at the front of his stall, head over the door, alert and expectant. That’s when we realized he’d known that someone was bringing him something good that day, he just didn’t know who it was, so he’d checked everyone’s hands as they came by!

More Surprising Insights

Two horse teachers owned by another friend have given me valuable information about essences. When I offered them the Alaskan Essence blend Soul Support, for example, they noted that it is complex enough to be a good blend overall and that it would help all animals get back to a healthy baseline.

Slick, Hannah’s mule, recently chose to take an essence for the first time. He was recovering from ulcers and said that the Indigo essence Peace cleared energy blockages and stuck places, bringing relief, flow and ease. Though the nature essence was new to him, plant medicine was not. He explained: “That plant medicine is ‘known to us’–- is the only way I can put it. There’s some old or ancient memory in us. We do know plants and rely on them. The essence you gave me had vibrations I’d never felt before – it wasn’t from familiar plants – but it was a very familiar feeling of healing.”

A recent revelation came via a cheerful chestnut horse named Kenshin. Last year he was seriously ill and on strong antibiotics for months; the vet wasn’t sure he’d pull through. By spring he’d gradually recovered, and his young owner asked Nicole to come so she could find out what he might need. At the end of their session, I offered him an essence. He licked it off my hand and, without thinking, I wiped the rest on his crown, between his ears. In the next instant, as his owner slipped off the halter, both Nicole and I got full-body goose bumps and she received the information and image that some old energy pattern in his brain – from either the illness or the prolonged medication use – had instantly cleared.

Animals know that the flower and nature vibrations that essences carry offer them a powerful yet gentle way back towards health and well-being. Working with horses and their long-eared cousins continues to deepen my understanding of both the animals and the essences. And there’s nothing like a soft nicker or enthusiastic bray to lift your spirits!

Libby

Libby Hopkins, a retired biologist with a Master’s degree in ecology, has been working with essences and wild and domestic animals for thirteen years. She has studied dowsing, earth energies, Reiki, flower essences, and animal/nature communication. Based in western Massachusetts, USA, she welcomes questions and comments at: lohopkins@gmail.com